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4 Ways iPad® Will Change the Way You Learn

With the roll out of the fall quarter, Minnesota School of Business-St. Cloud joins other MSB campuses across the state in implementing a digital initiative in every classroom by equipping all students to learn with a personal iPad®.

The initiative is part of the college’s Education User Experience, a technology-driven adaptive learning model that provides students with the tools they need to compete in the global workplace.

Student Erin Stocker prepares for Fall Quarter on her iPad.

Here are four important ways the iPad will change the way we teach and learn

1. It creates a more engaging and interactive experience. Students gain more control and ownership of their learning with iPad tablets in the classroom. By using web-based inquiry or participating in a classroom poll, for example, students create learning for themselves beyond the classroom text. As teachers play more of a facilitator role, the learning becomes a dynamic vs. passive experience. “There are so many interactive apps out there that can be used,” says Health Care Management Program Chair Deb Berglund. “Even having students make their own movies, etc., will challenge them to think more outside the box.”

2. It customizes the learning experience. “Instead of telling the students to put away their technology, the instructors will be asking them to embrace it and find new ways to transform their learning on an individual level that fits best for the students,” explains Campus Director Jim Beck. Students who might find a concept challenging will have the opportunity to explore it in other contexts via the web, for example, or students who find an idea especially interesting will be able to expand on their knowledge through iPad apps or internet inquiry.

3. Resources 24/7. With an iPad, students can access resources at anytime at their convenience. “Unlimited information is available to everyone on the planet in the palm of our hands,” Farmington, Minn., Public Schools Superintendent Jay Haugen told the Star Tribune when his district supplied iPad tablets to all of its 6,700 students. “You can work with anyone anywhere. This is a different world that our students will have to be successful in and compete in and collaborate in.”

MSB Campus Director Jim Beck adds, “Students can do their homework from anywhere they are as long as they have their iPad with them. Their book and resources will all be available.”In addition, the resources are current and “real time” vs. outdated information in textbooks.

4. Relevant professional developmentfor the future. This initiative prepares students for entry into the modern workplace. According to MSB-St. Cloud Dean of Students Carrie Winter, it provides students with “a comfort level with technology [and] the ability to adapt to a new style of learning which can transfer into the workplace as the ability to be open to new ideas and new ways of doing things.”

Health Care Program Chair Deb Berglund agrees. “Technology is huge in health care right now, so I think the students having access to this technology, and [with] some of the medical apps out there, will better prepare them for their career.”